(1) GENERAL. The
department shall routinely investigate remediation sites to establish that the
remediation is appropriate and that costs incurred reflect the remediation
services and activities.
(2)
APPLICABILITY. The department may conduct field and financial audits as deemed
necessary in order to further the goals of the PECFA program. Activities which
may warrant the conduct of a field or financial audit may include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(a)
Complaints;
(b) High cost
sites;
(c) Cases where retrofits
are being undertaken;
(d) New
construction activities;
(e)
Receipt of additional information which may result in modifying the initial
determination of eligibility;
(f)
More than one occurrence on a specific site; and
(g) Sites having commingled plumes.
Note: Defrauding the PECFA program may result
in revocation or suspension of credentials issued under ch. SPS 305, and
criminal prosecutions under chs. 939 and 943, Stats.
(3) MAINTENANCE OF AND ACCESS TO
RECORDS.
(a)
General. All
consultants and consulting firms registered to participate, all organizations
and individuals, including but not limited to service providers and others who
perform remedial action services, all owners, operators, and persons owning
home oil tank systems who file or attempt to file a claim under the PECFA
program shall maintain records relevant to a claim for 6 years after claim
submittal and make available upon request of the department, all financial and
work records deemed by the department as necessary to support or investigate a
claim or attempted claim.
(b)
Penalties. Penalties for violations of this section shall be
established in accordance with s.
292.63(10),
Stats.
Note: Section
292.63(10),
Stats., reads as follows: "PENALTIES. (a) Any owner or operator, person owning
a home oil tank system or service provider who fails to maintain a record as
required by rules promulgated under sub. (9) (a) may be required to forfeit not
more than $2000. Each day of continued violation constitutes a separate
offense.
(b) Any owner or
operator, person owning a home oil tank system or service provider who
intentionally destroys a document that is relevant to a claim for reimbursement
under this section is guilty of a Class G felony."
(c)
Notification of work
performed. The department may, at its request, require consultants and
consulting firms registered to participation and all organizations and
individuals who perform remedial action services and all owners, operators and
persons owning home oil tank systems to notify the department no less than 10
calendar days in advance of any work being performed at a site or
sites.
(d)
Parallel
sampling requirement. At the request of the department, consultants or
firms registered to participate or organizations or individuals who perform
remedial action services shall, as directed by the department, take soil or
groundwater samples and submit these samples to a laboratory specified by the
department. The cost of preparing and submitting these samples shall be an
eligible cost to the PECFA program independent of any cost cap or cost
estimate. The laboratory reports, for requested samples, shall be sent to the
department directly from the specified laboratory. The cost of the laboratory
analysis shall be paid by the owner and submitted as part of the PECFA
claim.
